Preview: UFC Fight Night 191 ‘Brunson vs. Till’

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Light Heavyweights

NR | Modestas Bukauskas (11-4, 1-2 UFC) vs. NR | Khalil Rountree (8-5, 4-5 UFC)

ODDS: Bukauskas (-155), Rountree (+135)

It appears the hype for Rountree has officially dried up at this point. When it was announced that Rountree would be part of “The Ultimate Fighter 23” cast back in 2016, “The War Horse” was considered one of the best prospects in the sport. An absolute tank, Rountree provided thudding knockout power to a level that few could match. Despite making it to the final, Rountree’s stint on “The Ultimate Fighter” exposed a lot of holes in his game, namely his subpar wrestling defense. Since then, Rountree’s career has been a frustrating mix of highlights and flat performances. For every crushing knockout of Paul Craig or Gokhan Saki, there was just as quick a loss to Tyson Pedro or Johnny Walker. A dominant three-round victory in 2019 over Eryk Anders looked like it could be a turning point, but in retrospect, Anders appears to have been the perfect blank canvas for Rountree to thrive. Rountree followed that performance with another quick loss to Ion Cutelaba, and after a long layoff and a teased retirement, his return performance was not particularly inspiring. His bout against Marcin Prachnio was as clear an example in recent memory of the UFC setting up a fighter to get knocked out, and Prachnio managed to stay evasive enough to earn the shocking upset. Rountree can still be electric in bursts, but he will need one of those moments against Bukauskas.

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A Lithuanian training out of England, Bukauskas had a successful regional career that felt a bit unsustainable. While Bukauskas has some skill as an athletic range striker, his regional wins usually saw him have trouble controlling the pace or shape of his fights until he scored a finish. “The Baltic Gladiator” looked better in his UFC debut against Andreas Michailidis in 2020, but his last two fights saw Jimmy Crute and Michal Oleksiejczuk find success with constant pressure that took Bukauskas out of his game. Bukauskas should be more than willing to strike with Rountree, so there is a chance the American can score a knockout. However, after Rountree’s performance against Prachnio, it is difficult to have much faith in him finding a finish against a long and fast fighter who prefers to keep his opponents at range. The pick is Bukauskas via decision.

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